The Host Continued
by tacoburrito
Summary: I made a mistake about the souls and money!They go on a raid. When they return to the caves they quickly learn that someone is dead and someone is back and they are supposed to be a million lightyears away. Wanda finds a secret in the caves only Jeb knows
1. Chapter 1

The Host

Continued . . .

Chapter One

We were on a raid. Ian, Melanie, Jared, and I. We went to Tuscan. We drove down the long curvy path leading to the highway. Melanie was laughing at Jared's side as always. He put his arm around her and made a quick kiss to her nose. He looked back at the road as a light approached. Ian's armed tensed around me. He tried to push me behind him as I struggled to get closer to the front. I was the one who could save us, why was he pushing me back? Jared's face hardened, his fists were clenched and Melanie was trying to unclench them. She glanced back at me and signaled me with her eyes to come forward. I pushed around Ian and I saw his jaw lock. I pushed myself up as the car slowed. I don't know how we did it but I got around Jared and sent him to the back seat. I continued to drive like I had been driving all along. The headlights of another car sent a chill down my spine. A young girl was behind the driver seat. She didn't as much as look at us as we passed. The tension in the air evaporated, it was like being healed by a Healer. Everything was right again and it felt like it would never end. Jared tried to resume his place next to Melanie and Ian was all too eager. But I pushed him back. I was now aware that at any moment they could find us and how far I would go to protect them.

"Wanda give me my seat back, the car is gone." He sounded annoyed. Melanie just shrugged as he looked at her questioningly. "You drive so slow!" I hadn't realized we were slowing down. I looked down to see how fast we were going when I saw that the fuel tank was empty. Jared followed my gaze and saw it too. "We have to go back, we can't make it. We have no money to buy gas, and we can't risk being seen there! Bloody Hell!" I cringed as he started to yell. Melanie was perfectly fine, she probably had heard him yell a lot. I missed having her memories and knowing her thoughts, she had so many emotions that I didn't have.

"What do we do now?" Ian said very rationally which made me love him more. Ian slid away like a ghost from Jared who was still yelling at the top of his lungs.

"All you have to do is act like you are asleep. I will drive us to the gas station." I whispered, afraid to interrupt Jared.

"That would be wonderful, if we had money!" Jared yelled. Since the economy collapsed the Souls had to start using money again. We don't know why, it had never done that before. We finally just decided to use the human way.

"I will tell the cashier that I left my wallet at home. She will trust me, easy."

"That could work." This was the first time Melanie had had something to say into the conversation. She shot a evil glare at Jared which made him immediately shut up.

"Ok, but drive fast, we can't be acknowledged." He agreed arrogantly and crossed his arms. The car was slowing but we were close to a gas station. I pulled in and parked. The motor turned off and the silence was overwhelming. They were all pretending to be asleep. Melanie's eyes flickered open and she nodded for me to go. I cracked the door open and found the ground. I was far away. I jumped down almost falling to my knees. The darkness surrounded me. Little dim lights from inside the gas station sparkled. I found the pump and stuck it into the car. The wind blew and I shivered. When I heard the clicking sound from the pump I pulled it out. I tried to stroll casually through the door but I ended up walking crookedly. The lady at the front counter looked up. She had looked so bored before I came in. Her eyes lit up and immediately, she looked me down waiting to know why I had come in.

"I would like to pay for my gas. I am on pump two." I reached down into my pocket and pretended to act surprised when there was nothing there. The lady was looking at the cash register. She was hitting a series of buttons. "I must have left my wallet at home!" I hoped she didn't find the false note in my voice. There was no change in her face as I expected there would be.

"It's ok darlin! I'll pay for it. What's your name?"

"My name is Sunlit Moon Fire. Thank you for paying for my gas. Where are the chocolate bars?"

"They are in the back, let me go get them for you. I will buy it for you." She was so nice. She stepped from behind the counter and walked to the back. I heard a door open and close. I ran around the counter and opened the register. There was at least a hundred dollars inside. I grabbed it and stuck it in my pocket. I closed the register and ran back around and waited for her arrival. As soon as I had stepped into place the door opened and closed. She had about seven chocolate bars in her hand. "I noticed you were not traveling alone. You on a road trip? Where are you going?" She didn't notice when I didn't answer her questions. She handed the chocolate over to me.

"Thanks again. Bye." I waved. I started to close the distance between myself and the door. I was starting to worry about Ian. He was so protective of me. He was always annoyed when I went to talk to my kind to get something from them.

"Well your mighty welcome! See you soon. Good Bye." I was starting to believe she didn't want me to go and she just wanted me there to talk to. The darkness exploded through my eyes and I could no longer see. I waited until my eyes adjusted before I took the last step into the car. Melanie pushed her face into the chair as I closed the door.

"What took so long?!?" I realized she had pushed her face into the chair to hide her lips from moving.

"Guess what I got!" I barely moved my lips I was afraid the clerk would see me. "I got chocolate and I might have stolen about a hundred dollars." Melanie gasped and put her hand out to me, palm open ready for her chocolate. I handed her one and started the motor. As soon as we were on the country road again everyone sat up. Jared and Ian both looked at the chocolate bars on the floor. I handed them one, knowing they wouldn't take one on their own. They greedily opened theirs and ate them in like one bite. I took one hand off the wheel and handed Jared the money I had stolen. He was in charge of all the money, to make sure we didn't waste it. The souls had started using money again once they realized the economy was going down. The raid was over all too quickly. The excitement of being on the run faded and we came to the caves. We took as much as we could carry into the caves to get more people. Jamie was the first person I saw. He was crying? I had only seen him cry a number of times and mostly they were in Melanie's memories. He hugged Mel and the tears drained faster. He sniffled as he looked at me and then everything was a blur.

"Jeb is dead." Those three words crushed my heart. I dropped the box I was carrying and ran to the game room. The key to the car poked at my leg as I put it in my pocket. As I ran tears started to run down my face and into my hair. The humid air was boring into my chest. I could no longer see anything because the tears clouded my eyes. I heard footsteps behind me and I knew who it would be. Ian. I sat hidden in the darkness as Ian approached.

"What's wrong?!?" He had urgency in his voice.

"Jeb can't be dead. He just can't be. If he was dead . . . he just can't be! How would he have died? Jamie must be mistaken! Jamie is wrong. He has to be!" I was fighting the sobs that made my words jumble.

"Stay here." He ordered. I didn't so much as look his way. What would be the point? I couldn't see anything. I looked straight ahead at the darkness and shivered. The air was sweet and smelled of rain. Through the holes in the roof came a mist. It was raining. Everyone would come in here to sleep because it had the least amount of holes in the ceiling. I just wanted to be alone and cry. Just then a light appeared down the passageway.

"Hey." I gasped at the voice. It was _**my **_Seeker.

Chapter 2

I curled deeper into my corner. "We sent you to Flower World. How can you be here? You couldn't have gone and come back. Everyone here would be dead. How . . ." She cut me off.

"They found me. They saw that I was not properly put into my casket and they took me out and put me in another body." I gasped again. "I actually came back to thank you all. That girl was really annoying. She bugged me constantly. But when I saw that she was back I wanted to leave. They found me in the desert dying. I was looking for this place again. Jeb saved my life and now I am trapped here. They won't tell me where the exit is either. Morons. It's not like I would tell the other souls where I am. I don't even know where I am. When I found this place before, it had been dark and I was just looking for a place to sleep. What I found was a human community." She smirked. "I should have shot you all." She gazed at the ceiling probably remembering the scene where she killed one of us. "Why didn't you kill me?"

"I made Doc promise not to kill any souls, but to send them to another planet where they would be happy." I realized I was smiling at the thought but then remembered what Jamie had said. _Jeb is dead._ I grimaced and my head sank down to look at the floor. "What happened to Jeb?" My question caught her off guard. She looked down the narrow passage way. The sound of footsteps, not just any footsteps either, it was Ian. She nodded her head and flinched away as he came through the opening. I could just make out Ian's eyes, they were gleaming and twinkling, it was like looking at the stars on a pitch black night. But not only were the beautiful they were gorgeous. When he looked at me his eyes turned sorrowful. My Seeker disappeared down the hall. I hadn't even noticed until there was only the sound of Ian and I breathing. I repeated my question and the tension built around us like bricks. It was thick and foggy, hard to breathe. "What happened to Jeb?" My question hung in the air. It bounced off the caves and into the night above.

"He is dead." His words stung my heart and made it ache. I could feel the emptiness in my stomach. The tears started rolling down my face as he came to sit by me. He maneuvered himself around to put my head on his shoulder. His arms wrapped around me like a fierce blanket of fire. It immediately warmed my skin. I shuddered as my still frozen skin met his hands as he rubbed my arms. "He died of old age. There was nothing Doc could do. No Healer could help him. He died in his sleep. He hadn't felt a thing." My sobs got louder as he whispered to me. "There was nothing Doc could do." He repeated over and over. Finally after a few hours I stood. Ian was completely shocked by the movement and jumped to his feet beside me. I sprinted to the hospital wing. People stared as I passed, but that was no surprise. Everyone stared at the evil alien souls who took over their Earth. When Melanie saw me she took off running after me. She was faster then me so she caught up. Ian was close behind.

"What are you doing?!?" Melanie was full of rage. "You have to be strong . . . for Jamie. He has had the worst time with this. He was all alone until we came back. He is still young and Jeb was a father to him. We have to be strong for Jamie, remember Jamie." I noticed she was fighting sobs too. She stared into my eyes and she gave me a big hug. We must have looked pretty ugly. Covered in dirt. She walked off and passed Ian as he came in. He picked me up and carried me to our room. I cried myself asleep.

When I awoke Ian was next to me staring at the wall eating a pop tart. I giggled as he chewed noisily. He jumped at my giggle and choked down the bite he was chewing. "Hey Ian."

"I was thinking . . . maybe you would want to play Soccer. You know, to lift your spirits. I already got people who would love to play. Jeb died a day after we left so everyone had already cried for him. Everything is getting back to normal. Except Jamie."

"I would rather not talk about it and yes I want to play Soccer." I pulled myself up to sit next to him. He smiled largely and I could see pop tart in his teeth, which made me laugh out.

We all walked to the game room. Single file as always, with us we had Melanie, Jared, Jamie, a girls they had found recently named Abbey, Susie, and Alex, they were best friends. We split into teams and it was Ian and I, Melanie and Jamie, then on the other team they had Jared, Abbey, Susie and Alex. It was funny because Susie seemed to have a crush on Jared. Ha. Jared tried to ignore her as much as possible. Jared's team ended up winning. Apparently the girls had been on a Soccer team together and were pretty much professionals.

"Hey Jared!" Susie was trying to make a move on Jared. He barely looked at her; he was busy looking for Melanie to see if she was watching. Mel was. Mel and I were standing against the far cave wall watching. "I was wondering . . . do you want to go get some water with me, maybe a bag of cheetos?" It was hilarious. Susie was like 14. She would probably fall for Jamie in the end but it was funny watching. Melanie and I were giggling like school girls.

"I think I am a little old for you." He shooed her off which made us laugh harder.

"How old are you?" Her smile had faded to a pout.

"Forty-two." He said it very sarcastically. Mel and I fell to the floor and laughed so hard our stomachs hurt. He was really like twenty five.

"What's so funny?" Ian had heard our laughter and came to see what it was about.

"We're watching Susie hit on Jared!" His laugh bounced around the walls and made Susie jump. Jared turned his head and focused on Melanie and walked over to her. He was frowning. I choked down a laugh that was building in my throat. Melanie was still laughing uncontrollably.

"Do you think that was funny?" Jared was annoyed. He glared at Ian who immediately stopped laughing, but held a smirk on his face.

"Definitely. Jamie come here!" She yelled in his direction still choking down a laugh. "Can you go ask Susie to go with you and get some water and maybe share a bag of cheetos?" A grin appeared on his face, followed by a bit of confusion.

"Sure, but why?"

"She seems a little . . . depressed." She chuckled on the last word.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I curled deeper into my corner. I could recognize her tone anywhere. She was always talking to souls like she was looking down on them."We sent you to Flower World. How can you be here? You couldn't have gone and come back. Everyone here would be dead. How . . ." She cut me off.

"They found me. They saw that I was not properly put into my casket and they took me out and put me in another body." I gasped again. "I actually came back to thank you all. That girl was really annoying. She bugged me constantly. But when I saw that she was back I wanted to leave. They found me in the desert dying. I was looking for this place again. Jeb saved my life and now I am trapped here. They won't tell me where the exit is either. Morons. It's not like I would tell the other souls where I am. I don't even know where I am. When I found this place before, it had been dark and I was just looking for a place to sleep. What I found was a human community." She smirked. "I should have shot you all." She gazed at the ceiling probably remembering the scene where she killed one of us. "Why didn't you kill me?"

"I made Doc promise not to kill any souls, but to send them to another planet where they would be happy." I realized I was smiling at the thought but then remembered what Jamie had said. _Jeb is dead._ I grimaced and my head sank down to look at the floor. "What happened to Jeb?" My question caught her off guard. She looked down the narrow passage way. The sound of footsteps, not just any footsteps either, it was Ian. She nodded her head and flinched away as he came through the opening. I could just make out Ian's eyes, they were gleaming and twinkling, it was like looking at the stars on a pitch black night. But not only were the beautiful they were gorgeous. When he looked at me his eyes turned sorrowful. My Seeker disappeared down the hall. I hadn't even noticed until there was only the sound of Ian and I breathing. I repeated my question and the tension built around us like bricks. It was thick and foggy, hard to breathe. "What happened to Jeb?" My question hung in the air. It bounced off the caves and into the night above.

"He is dead." His words stung my heart and made it ache. I could feel the emptiness in my stomach. The tears started rolling down my face as he came to sit by me. He maneuvered himself around to put my head on his shoulder. His arms wrapped around me like a fierce blanket of fire. It immediately warmed my skin. I shuddered as my still frozen skin met his hands as he rubbed my arms. "He died of old age. There was nothing Doc could do. No Healer could help him. He died in his sleep. He hadn't felt a thing." My sobs got louder as he whispered to me. "There was nothing Doc could do." He repeated over and over. Finally after a few hours I stood. Ian was completely shocked by the movement and jumped to his feet beside me. I sprinted to the hospital wing. People stared as I passed, but that was no surprise. Everyone stared at the evil alien souls who took over their Earth. When Melanie saw me she took off running after me. She was faster then me so she caught up. Ian was close behind.

"What are you doing?!?" Melanie was full of rage. "You have to be strong . . . for Jamie. He has had the worst time with this. He was all alone until we came back. He is still young and Jeb was a father to him. We have to be strong for Jamie, remember Jamie." I noticed she was fighting sobs too. She stared into my eyes and she gave me a big hug. We must have looked pretty ugly. Covered in dirt. She walked off and passed Ian as he came in. He picked me up and carried me to our room. I cried myself asleep.

When I awoke Ian was next to me staring at the wall eating a pop tart. I giggled as he chewed noisily. He jumped at my giggle and choked down the bite he was chewing. "Hey Ian."

"I was thinking . . . maybe you would want to play Soccer. You know, to lift your spirits. I already got people who would love to play. Jeb died a day after we left so everyone had already cried for him. Everything is getting back to normal. Except Jamie."

"I would rather not talk about it and yes I want to play Soccer." I pulled myself up to sit next to him. He smiled largely and I could see pop tart in his teeth, which made me laugh out.

We all walked to the game room. Single file as always, with us we had Melanie, Jared, Jamie, a girls they had found recently named Abbey, Susie, and Alex, they were best friends. We split into teams and it was Ian and I, Melanie and Jamie, then on the other team they had Jared, Abbey, Susie and Alex. It was funny because Susie seemed to have a crush on Jared. Ha. Jared tried to ignore her as much as possible. Jared's team ended up winning. Apparently the girls had been on a Soccer team together and were pretty much professionals.

"Hey Jared!" Susie was trying to make a move on Jared. He barely looked at her; he was busy looking for Melanie to see if she was watching. Mel was. Mel and I were standing against the far cave wall watching. "I was wondering . . . do you want to go get some water with me, maybe a bag of cheetos?" It was hilarious. Susie was like 14. She would probably fall for Jamie in the end but it was funny watching. Melanie and I were giggling like school girls.

"I think I am a little old for you." He shooed her off which made us laugh harder.

"How old are you?" Her smile had faded to a pout.

"Forty-two." He said it very sarcastically. Mel and I fell to the floor and laughed so hard our stomachs hurt. He was really like twenty five.

"What's so funny?" Ian had heard our laughter and came to see what it was about.

"We're watching Susie hit on Jared!" His laugh bounced around the walls and made Susie jump. Jared turned his head and focused on Melanie and walked over to her. He was frowning. I choked down a laugh that was building in my throat. Melanie was still laughing uncontrollably.

"Do you think that was funny?" Jared was annoyed. He glared at Ian who immediately stopped laughing, but held a smirk on his face.

"Definitely. Jamie come here!" She yelled in his direction still choking down a laugh. "Can you go ask Susie to go with you and get some water and maybe share a bag of cheetos?" A grin appeared on his face, followed by a bit of confusion.

"Sure, but why?"

"She seems a little . . . depressed." She chuckled on the last word.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning my eyes fluttered open to see Ian. He was snoring slightly and breathing deeply. He stretched out and hugged the mattress all the while squishing his face into his pillow. Our room was bright with the glorious light shining through. I sighed and got to my feet. Ian rolled over as the mattress rose as I got up. His nose scrunched and his eyes flew open, he immediately sprang to his feet and was right beside me.

"Where are you going?!?" He sounded worried and angry that I hadn't waken him.

"No where. Why?" I cocked my head and looked down at my bare feet. The rock I had been standing on was now in between my toes.

"I don't trust you because of . . . Jeb." His eyes took on a great concern.

"I'm fine. I don't need a chaperone." My mood took over me.

"Ya, you do." He was acting like my mother. Well not my mother but the girls memories said that when people told you what to do they were acting like your mother. I slapped him hard across the face. His eyes were cold and he looked hurt. I stepped away from him and picked up my shoes and walked out the room entrance. The floor was cold with my bare feet. I made an irregular turn into a long corridor. Ian wouldn't come look for me here. I stopped, sliding easily down to the floor against the cave wall. My breathing ceased as I heard footsteps down the hall. I knew it was Ian. His pace was a light jog and I saw him pass. When he was gone I gasped in air and continued tying my shoes. When tthey were tied I looked around. I hadn't ever been in this set of caves before. It was dark and somehow looked lonely. I longed to hold it close and warm it but that confused me. Caves didn't have feelings. It was like it was dragging me in, like it needed me. I stood and walked farther into the cave. It was a dead end. I sat in the corner and picked up a rock. It wouldn't come up. I yanked and a bigger rock behind me moved. I steadied myself and stood. The dead end now looked like a regular tunnel like it had been there all along. I ducked into it and was almost knocked over by the sudden blast of freezing air. I shivered furiously. It seemed like the farther I walked the colder it got. I sound distracted me and I turned around. The cave had closed. I was surrounded in the darkness and it felt like a part of me. I felt the urge to lay out in the sun for hours and hours.

I came to an intersection. I chose right. There was a crooked door to one of the cave entrances. I opened the door with a creak. The sound frightened me and I jumped four feet into the air. I slithered in afraid something would come out of the darkness and get me. The room was normal. It had a bed that had a stand, not just the mattress. It had a deep green quilt and a large bed side table. It looked like home. There was a dresser with five little handles. The handles were iron and looked like they hadn't been touched in years. I stepped closer in and swiped my finger into the never ending dust. Instinctively I wiped it off onto my jeans. I opened the drawers and found a little blue case. I unzipped the case and reached my hand inside. There was a letter.

_"My dearest love, how I have longed to see you. My feelings keep getting pushed aside. I can't think about anyone but you. You are the only reason I live. I can't stand it here. He doesn't take into account that I am a living, breathing person. To him I am just a wife. I have realized that he just wanted me to be a show. He doesn't love me the way you do, he only wants my presence to make him richer in front of the horrible media. They control my life, and now so does he. I would have run away, but I am afraid for your safety. For now we must only write for I am responsible for your life and I hold it with deep care and love. For you my only soul and heart I have embedded in this envelope a small handkerchief that will keep me with you forever no matter how our lives go. Goodbye, my dearest love."_

_"__L"_

The letter was signed with a single letter. "L." My heart wept for the heart broken man who must have read that letter. I dug deeper into the small envelope and found a small handkerchief, just like the letter had said. I folded the letter back up and put it into the case. I looked around after I closed the drawer. I went to the night stand and found another letter in an envelope. I felt guilty for reading someone's mail but I had the urge to see how the soap opera of people's lives would end. This one had a different handwriting. Mostly the grammar was wrong but I read it anyway. It was wrote recently unlike the one I had already read.

**"****The reason I am writing to you is because of the aliens attacking. I want to know that you are safe. Make sure that he protects you because you are the light in my eyes. The love I have for you will go on even if I am captured. I am taking in my family and all the humans I can find. Come find me. Follow the lines that I have taught you. They will lead you to me. I will always remember you and even if they put a soul in me. My heart will be forever yours. This letter may never get to you. It might already be too late for me, keep dreaming, you can do anything. You can always count on me to be there to rescue you. Stay strong, for me." **

**"Jeb"**

Jeb? He wrote this letter. He must have really loved this L person. She never got it. She would be as old as Jeb. Well she could have been younger them him. He must have married into Melanie's family. I wonder why. I closed the envelope and put it back on the night stand. I stepped around the bed and out of the door. I would definitely have to comeback here. I turned right and continued into the cold. The frozen cave walls were getting closer around me. It came to a big empty room. It was full of antique vases and lamps. There was different types of everything. It was all scattered about the room. I roamed into the room looking at little trinkets. There was a comfy couch and a coffee table. Not to forget the coffee machine. There were so many things that could improve life in the caves. I didn't understand why Jeb had kept all of it a secret. I didn't hear anything until the voice was there.

"What are you doing in here!?!" I gasped. There was no freaking way that was who it was.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

There was no freakin way he was there. I held tightly to the table because my legs felt weak and shriveled. I looked straight into his cold eyes. They were not at all how I remembered them. There was a hard tension in the air that stood frozen as if scared. If walls could shake, they would at that very moment. The cool air bellowed around me until I whispered.

"How?" My voice deceived me and it came out distorted like 'houw?' Jeb's eyes were bleak and crippled. He was as skinny as the pencil behind his ear. He continued to scratch his face as if he couldn't figure out if it was good that I was here or not.

"I staged my death. Get it? Now don't tell anyone! I need to stay here. If people know I am alive they will start asking questions. How did you get in here anyway? You are the first person to ever discover my cave. Ahh!" He threw his hands over his head and gently made them cover his face. There was a slow growl coming from him. After a moment of silence I realized he was hungry and his stomach was growling.

"Do you want some food?" On the last word he looked up. His watery eyes suddenly brightened. He was definitely starving.

"Yes! I haven't eaten in days. I brought food in here but there wasn't enough! Bring me as much food as you can carry! Go now!" He started pushing me towards the empty cave wall. He pulled a lever that a shirt hung on and the wall opened into a doorway. He shoved me through and when I turned back he was gone and there was a wall there again.

The kitchen was crowded with people. There was a line to the counter. I got in line and got two packages of pop tarts and two bottles of water acting like I was getting one for myself and Ian.

"Ian is looking for ya Wanda." It was Rachel, a girl who had recently came to the caves and she fit right in.

"I know. He found me. I was bringing him some food." I showed her the food and she nodded her head and waved as I walked away. I saw Ian cross the main plaza. I stayed close against the wall trying to hide in the shadows. Ian ran around the plaza looking in each hall. He looked worried and his face was red from where I had slapped him. When I reached the hall I wanted to enter I saw Melanie coming out of her room. She would surely tell Ian where I went. "Hey Mel."My eye twitched as I began my lie. "I want some time alone, can you not tell Ian where I went? We got in a fight and he is looking for me." I gathered myself and breathed in casually while she responded.

"Sure, whatever. Jared is bothering me too. He is like always right there. Can you not tell him you saw me? I want to be alone too." I nodded my head again and walked on. She hadn't even looked like she cared. I turned my head to see Ian head straight for Melanie in the plaza. I could just barely make out the words he said.

"Have you seen Wanda? She is mad at me and she ran off. I looked everywhere. Do you know where she is?" His voice was strained and tense. His jaw rotated in a circular pattern.

"Ya, I saw her a little while ago." I couldn't believe she was ratting me out! "I think she went to see Doc." I knew she wouldn't rat me out! "She had to talk to him about the Seeker. She wanted to know where to find her. They locked the Seeker up again because she found the exit." His eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Thanks." He smiled crookedly and sprinted towards the hospital wing. Melanie looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

I pulled the rock up and found the door. Jeb was waiting anxiously in the room cluttered with nick knacks. He jumped to my side when he saw me and snatched everything from my hands. He stuffed his face and it looked like he wasn't even breathing.

"Why did you think you were going to have enough food?" I seated myself on the couch as he drank the water vigorously. "Where were you going to go that there was food?" He looked up and met my eyes with a cold hard stare. He rubbed his cheek and set the water down on the table. His face was bony and rigid. His whole body quaked as he tried to sit down beside me.

"I was going to see Lisandra." Jeb put his hands to his face to cover it and his elbows were propped on his knees. He took in a gasping breath and finally spoke again. "I couldn't get out of the caves. Everywhere I went there was someone there. Lisandra was beautiful. We were in love. Her family married her off to a rich man. He threatened to kill me if I ever saw her again. I was going to go find her. I had to stage my death because I didn't want anyone to risk their life to come after me." The cool air had gone and was replaced by the sorrow that was carried by his voice. "We only wrote to each other. She wrote one time that she had to sneak out to the mail carrier to give him the letter because James wouldn't let her send it to me. She always said that he only wanted her because she would make him more rich and powerful then he already is. She hated him. I haven't spoken to her in thirty years. I wrote a letter to her but I never had the guts to send it. I was afraid James would find it and know how to find me." He stopped dead in his tracks as if trying to forget a painful memory and realizing that he didn't want to tell me anymore. My mouth was dry and I could say nothing, afraid it would bring the memory back, but I did anyway.

"What was her full name?" I tried to find the sympathy in my voice but it was long gone after reading the letters. He grimaced as he looked away from me.

"It doesn't matter. I have to go and find her. I have to see if she is alright. If she is not, I will bring her body and have Doc take out the soul.

"Everyone thinks your dead. How did you stage your own death?" The curiosity in my throat came out in a blunder.

"You would be surprised what Doc will think if you hold your breath. Also when they put me into the grave, it was dark, I slithered out before they covered me with sand. Easy." He looked pleased with himself for coming up with the plan by himself which made me wonder.

"Does anyone know you are alive?"

"Beside you?" I shook my head 'yes.' I really wanted to know if he had help because I wouldn't be surprised if Doc had helped him and he was lying about it. "Then no." He managed a smile which made him look a bit smug. I hung my head. My hair glued to my face and I realized that I was sweating.

"What are you going to do now?" My heart clenched as his mind began working out what he was going to do. His face was puzzled.

He looked at me in frustration then smiled. "The real question is what are you going to do to help me?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was so dark! Why was Jeb making her do this? Her hands were on the walls guiding her through the tunnels. She wasn't used to it being this dark. Her breathing got louder, no it wasn't her breathing, it was Ian's.

"Wanda!?!" His whisper was frantic and scared. He was still looking for her. She stopped dead in her tracks and squished herself into the wall. He was sprinting. He past her without even looking her direction. "WANDA!" He didn't bother to whisper. He was really getting freaked. "I'm so sorry! Please come back!" She rolled her eyes, it was his fault he was so protective. She made her way towards the exit and did the signal. The signal was to knock on the cave wall when the coast was clear. Jeb came up from behind her and snuck out the door. He had a pair of blue jeans and a flannel shirt that looked brand new. The backpack he wore was stuffed and filled that it looked like it would pop. I walked behind him even though he told me not to.

"STAY BACK!" Jeb yelled with a voice that threatened to bite my head off. After he was gone I went back to Jeb's cave. That night I slept on the bed that had a real mattress that was comfortable.

The next morning she walked out to the kitchen. The kitchen was populated with people everywhere. All talking about the same thing; me. They were so into their conversations they didn't even look at me. Jamie was the first one to look.

"Look everybody, it's Wanda!" They looked at me like I had bed head. "Where's Ian? Go get him!" He paused and everyone stared at me blankly like I was a ballerina doing twirls at a funeral. "Where were you Wanda? We sent a search party to find you. We thought you left the caves."

"I didn't leave the caves. Why would I do that?" My head started spinning and my feet wobbled under me.

"We thought you were so mad at Ian you were going to tell the Souls where the caves were." His voice sounded ashamed, like he had believed that too. Jamie opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Ian.

"Wanda! Are you alright?!? I have been searching all night for you! Where were you?" He screamed. He had bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in months. His face casually softened. "I am so sorry." Melanie walked up behind Jamie. She blinked at me a few times and I knew she hadn't told anyone that I had wanted to be away from Ian and must have been killing her inside.

"Ian, I am fine." I looked at the crowd and realized the entire scene was happening in front of the entire caves, everyone was packed in to the tiny kitchen area.

"Where were you?" was the muffled voices of the crowd were saying.

I stuttered. "I . . . I'm not allowed to tell you." Jeb had given me strict orders of not to tell anyone about his secret caves. I sighed deeply and let my muscles relax from their tense position.

"Why can't you tell us?" Jamie whispered so softly about two other people could hear him.

"I made a promise." I closed the discussion by walking out to the main plaza. Ian followed close behind.

"Wanda, wait." My pace quickened as I went to our room. When we arrived I sat on the bed and stared at the bag of cheetos that lay next to my feet. Ian saw me staring. "Go ahead, take 'em." I popped the bag open and stuck some in my mouth. "Why can't you tell me? Who did you promise?" He said _**me**_like he was a King and no one else mattered.

"I can't tell you!" I shouted. His head sunk, I knew I had hurt his feelings. Then I got mad at myself and stormed across the room and began pacing. "Wait a minute!" I stopped pacing. "He said not to tell you about the caves. What if I show you?"

"Who is the HE is this?!?" He asked sounding a little jealous.

"I can't tell you, but I can show you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone about this. If you do I will move out of here." I grimaced at the threat I made to him and he nodded his head in agreement. "Follow me." I walked to the end of the hall and took the sharp turn to the hall with the dead end.

"What are we doing here? This is just an empty hallway. This is where you hid all night?" I ignored all of his questions, because after all, I wasn't allowed to tell him anything. I slid down to the floor and searched for the tiny pebble. I yanked up and the door opened. Ian did a double take at which once was the wall now was a door. "What?" was all he could say. I pulled him along and took him into the wall and I looked back at it to see it close.


End file.
